Review Iomega’s original ScreenPlay Pro network media player was a bit of a mixed bag. It had very good connectivity features, including a video input option that allowed it to capture video as well as simply playing audio and video files that were already stored on it. However, it was let down by its inability to play H.264 video – the format used by the ubiquitous iPod and numerous other devices.
Iomega’s ScreenPlay Director
Needless to say, the first thing we did when we received the new Screenplay Director HD was to check whether it could handle H.264. It came through that test with flying colours, although we did discover a few other rough edges along the way. Even so, it’s clear that Iomega has put a bit more thought into this model than it did with its predecessor.
At first glance, the Director HD appears identical to the earlier ScreenPlay Pro. It’s a slim, glossy unit that looks like a fairly conventional hard disk, albeit with a few extra buttons on the front. Our review unit had a 1TB hard disk inside it and costs £179, and there’s also a 2TB version available for £309. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The low end of Iomega’s StorCenter range, the StorCenter ix2, is noisy, slow and lacking quite a few features you’d expect on a £300 Nas. The new StorCenter daddy, the ix4-200d, is in a different league in the speed and noise categories though, which you’d expect for 600-plus quid.
Low power, high capacity: Iomega’s StorCenter ix4-200d
Inside its squat, 16.7cm tall case, there’s a 1.2GHz Marvell 6281 CPU with 512MB Ram and four hard drives offering 2TB, 4TB and 8TB capacities. These are chopped into Raid 5 by default, although Raid 10 and JBOD formatting is also available.
There are two USB ports and two gigabit Ethernet ports on the back with one USB port handily placed on the front. There’s no eSata port to speak of though. A blue-backlit LCD is built into the front face, cycling through free space, time, date, IP address and current function. The current function, combined with two buttons, lets you select whether or not to transfer the contents of USB devices to the internal hard drives. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Iomega has re-invented its eGo portable hard drives, opting for a ‘value-added’ theme: when you purchase the ‘PS’ (Protection Suite) edition of an eGo, you get a bundle of backup and data security software included, plus slimmer, ruggedised hardware and the promise of a three-year warranty.
Iomega’s new eGo: sexier styling than before
The redesigned case is slimmer and lighter: at 89 x 136mm and barely 15mm thick, the new eGo weighs just 170g. Call us faddish, but we thought the old eGo case design was ugly, like some kitchen designer’s idea of a hipflask. The new unit has smooth edges and corners all around, which certainly makes it cuter but also more comfortable to handle and, we dare say, easier to slip into your pocket when you’re in a hurry. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The Home Media Network Hard Drive sounds like an all-singing, all-dancing multimedia extravaganza, along the same lines as Iomega’s recently-released ScreenPlay Pro HD. However, it’s actually a much more modest proposition than that.
The HMNHD is really just a relatively basic NAS box. It doesn’t have the assortment of HDMI and video interfaces provided by the more versatile ScreenPlay, just a Gigabit Ethernet port for hooking it up to your router and a USB port for connecting additional storage devices, or for sharing a printer on your network.
Our review unit was the 500GB model with a 7200rpm drive, priced at £135, and there’s also a 1TB model available for £180. The drive is quite neatly designed, with a “burnished gun metal” – aka ‘dark grey plastic’ – casing that measures a compact 200 x 125 x 37.5mm. The internal fan makes a quiet but steady hum – about the same level as the fan in the Toshiba laptop that we tested it with, so it’s noticeable but not annoying. Stick it on a shelf or in a corner next to your router and you won’t notice it at all. Read the rest of this entry »
